Scam guide
Fake Police and "Digital Arrest" Video Calls: It Is a Scam
By the Bakkar team ·
There is no such thing as a "digital arrest". The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre says so plainly, and real police, CBI or customs officers never question or arrest anyone over a video call.
How the scam works
The Ministry of Home Affairs has warned about callers posing as police, the CBI, the narcotics department, the RBI or the Enforcement Directorate. They say a parcel in your name held drugs, or your number was used in a crime, or (often after a dating or chat app conversation) that someone has filed a complaint about you. Then they keep you on a video call, sometimes for hours, "under digital arrest" until you pay to "settle" it.
Red flags
- Uniforms, badges and a "police station" background on a video call.
- Orders not to tell anyone or end the call.
- Payment to "verify" your accounts or settle the case.
What Bakkar does, and what it can't
Bakkar has no calls of any kind, so this can't happen inside Bakkar. But scammers sometimes use what you told them in a chat, your name, city or college, to make the call sound real. Keep personal details light with people you've just met.
What to do
- Stop replying. You don't owe a scammer an explanation.
- Don't pay. Paying once never ends it; it tells them you will pay again.
- Save the evidence before you block: screenshots of the profile, the chat, any numbers, UPI IDs or links they sent.
- Report and block them on Bakkar from the chat or their profile. See what happens when you report.
- Lost money? Call 1930 at once. The national cybercrime helpline can ask banks to freeze the money while it is still moving, so the first hours matter. Then file the complaint at cybercrime.gov.in.
- Got the call or message on your phone? Report the number on Chakshu (Sanchar Saathi) within 30 days.
- Tell someone you trust. Scams work best on people who feel alone with them. If it's weighing on you, Tele MANAS on 14416 is free and open 24x7.
